And also in recountyng of hye hystoryes / the comune underston dyng is better content to the ymagynacion local than to symple auctoryte / to which it is sub mysed / J saye this gladly / For oftymes I haue ben excyted of the venerable man messire henry bolomyer chanonne of lausanne for to reduce for his playsyr somme hystoryes as wel in latyn Jin romaunce as in other facion wry ton/ that is to say of the ryght puyssaunt / vertuous / and noble charles the grete / kyng of fraunce and emperour of Rome / Sone of the grete Pepyn / And of his prynces J barons / As Rolland Olyuer/ and other / touchyng | verso, col. 1. the playsyr of god to whome I submytte al myn entente to write no thyng that ought to be blamed / ne but that it be to the helthe sauacion of euery persone / not sayd ony matere / but I therof ben enformed / Fyrst an autentyke book named rour hystoryal / as by the ca nes and somme other boo whiche make mencyon of werke folowyng/ And by ca I may haue a lytel parte of nourable foundement I shal tou of the first cristen kyng of frau For the moste parte of this bo is made to thonour of the fren men / and for prouffyte of eue man / and after the desyre of t redar and herer / there shalle founden in the table all playthe mater of whyche the person shal haue desyre to here or rede wythoute grete atedyacyon / by Sign. a here folowyng/ besechyng al ther that shal fynde faute in the sam to correcte and amende it / And also to pardone me of the rude symple reducyng / and though so be there be no gaye termes/ne subtyl ne newe eloquence / yet J hope that it shal be vnderstonden ๆ to that entente I haue specуally reduced it / after the symple connyng that god hath lente to me / wherof I humbly J wyth al my herte thanke hym / J also am bounden to praye for my fader and moders soules / that in my youthe sette me to scole / by whyche by the suffraunce of god I gete my lyuyng I hope truly And that I may so do J contynue I byseche hym to graunte me Thenuoye of thaucto[u]r1 ca A X the 1.10. SJ haue sayd at begynnyng of thys present werke / the escryptu res and feates / somme haue ben reduced in wrytyng for to be in memorye / to the ende that they that haue doon wel/ be to vs en saumple in ensyewyng and folowyng them / J they that haue doon euyl may be cause to rewle our lyf for to come to the porte of helthe / For the comune vnderstondyng is more contente to 1 text: auctonr [1485] ENVOY m. vij. recto, col. 2. ON. H [m. vij.] verso, col. 1. book / J haue taken J drawen oute of a book named myrrour hystoryal for the moost parte / J the second book I haue onely re duced it out of an olde romaunce in frensshe / And without other Informacyon than of the same book J haue reduced it in to prose substancyally wythout fayl lyng / by ordynaunce of chapytres ៗ partyes of the sayd book after the mater in the same conteyned And yf in al thys book I haue mesprysed or spoken otherwyse than good langage substancyally ful of good vnderstondyng to al makers and clerkes I demaunde correxyon and amendement / and of the defaultes par don / For yf the penne hath wry ton euyl / the hert thought it neuer / but entended to say wel / reteyne parables and exan for the ymagynacion locall / to symple auctoryte / the wh is reteyned by vnderston dy and also semblably thysto spekyng of our lord Ihesu c of hys myracles / J of his v ous subgettes / euery man gladly to here and retenne th Jit is so that at the requeste the sayd venerable man to f named Maister henry bolonn chanonne of lausanne Jha been Incyted to translate J duyse in prose in to Frensshe t mater tofore reduced as moci as toucheth the fyrst the thyrd col. 2. beney one of the tresorers of th lewellys of the noble J moos crysten kyng / our naturel and souerayn lord late of noble memorye kyng Edward the fo[u]rth on whos soule Ihesu haue mercy To reduce al these sayd hystoryes in to our englysshe tongue I haue put me in deuoyr to tran slate thys sayd book as ye here tofore may see al a longe and pl[a]yn2/ prayeng alle them that shal rede / see or here it / to pardon me of thys symple J rude tran3s [1]acyon and reducyng/ bysechyng theym that shal fynde faute to correcte it / Jin so doyng they shal deserue thankynges / J I shal praye god for them / who 1 text: fonrth 2 text: pl yn 3 text: tran-s acyon my wytte J vnderstondyng yche is ryght lytel can not re ne wryte thys matere with e errour / Neuertheles who so Herstondeth wel the lettre / Shal - compryse myn entencyon / which he shal fynde nothyng moyen for to come to salua1/ To the whyche may fyna ly come alle they that wyllynrede / or here / or do thys book De redde Amen And by cause Jwylliam brynge them and me after this short and transytorye lyf to euerlastyng blysse Amen / the whyche werke was fynysshed in the reducyng of hit in to englysshe the xviij day of Iuyn the second yere of kyng Rychard the thyrd / And the yere of our lord MCCCC lxxxv / And enprynted the fyrst day of decembre the same yere of our lord J the fyrst yere of kyng Harry the seuenth / ton was desyred J requyred | Explicit per william Caxton a good and synguler frende nyn / Maister wylliam dau 1 text: fynably N XXVII The Book of Good Maners [1487] [PROLOGUE] Han I consydere the condycions ។ maners of the comyn people whiche without enformacion ៗ lernyng ben rude d not manerd lyke vnto beestis brute accordyng to an olde uerbe. he that is not manerd is no man. for maners make n. Thenne it is requesite and necessary that euery man vse dj vertuous maners. And to thende that every man shold ae knowleche of good maners / An honest man / Ja specyal [d]el of myn a Mercer of london named wylliam praat which - departed out of this lyf on whos soule god haue mercy / longe before his deth delyuerd to me in frenshe a lytel book hed the book of good maners whiche book is of auctoryte as moche as there is nothyng sayd therin but for the moost t it is aledged by scrypture of the byble. or ellis by sayeng 1 text: frence Sig. a ij. recto. of holy sayntes / doctours / philosophres. J poetes. and desy me Instantly to translate it in to englyssh our maternal ton to thende that it myght be had and vsed emonge the people thamendement of their maners. and to thencreace of vertuo lyuyng. Thenne I at the request ។ desyre of hym whyche w my synguler frende / and of olde knowlege haue put myself deuoyr for taccomplysshe his desyre / J haue after the lytel cor nyng that god hath lent me translated out of frenshe in to ou englyssh this sayd book of good maners. besechyng almyght god that it may prouffyte bothe the redars J herers therof For that is thentent of hym that was fyrst cause that brouzt the boke to my hande. and also of me that haue accomplysshed it. prayeng al them that shal rede ๆ here it to correcte where as they fynde faulte and to holde me excused of the rude J vnparfyght englysh. And I beseche almyghty god that it so may be vnderstonden that al they that shal rede or here it / that they may the better lyue in this present lyf that after this lyf they J I may come to the euerlastyng lyf in heuen where as is loye and blysse perd[u]rable1 Amen. W XXVIII The Royal Book [1488] [PROLOGUE] Han I remembre and take hede of the conuersacion of vs that lyue in this wretched lyf. in which is no surete ne stable abydyng. And also the contynuel besynes of euery man. how he is occupyed and dayly laboureth to bylde Jedefye as though theyr habytacion and dwellyng here / were permanent and shold euer endure. J also practyse how they may gete temporalle possessyons. goodes and rychesses. of whyche they are neuer contente ne satysfyed as for the moost partye. but contynuelly entende and laboure by many subtyl meanes how they may encreace theyr sayd possessyons and richesses for to come and attayne to worldly honour and estate. In whiche they wene be veray felycyte and blessydnes / and whan I haue wel ouerseen J examyned these forsayd thynges and lyf. I Sig. a ij. recto. 1 text: perdnrable |